“The majority of vacancy activity is the result of replacing departing staff rather than the creation of new roles. Employers will act fast if an employee leaves a business critical role.”

Noblet said the movement of candidates between jobs is a trend not reflected in the unemployment rate, but it is a good sign of candidates’ confidence that they can improve their prospects by looking for a new job.

“As a result overall vacancy activity is expected to increase this quarter. Many employers also tell us they are keen to secure candidates who can start early in the new calendar year,” he said.

“But employers prefer candidates with a solid history of tenure with their previous employers. Candidates who have changed employers often aren’t viewed as favourably as those who have been loyal for several years.

“We’ve also seen the recruitment process lengthen as employers become more thorough when assessing candidates. They often want to make sure their candidate of choice has a broad skill set so that they gain the most value from new hires,” added Noblet.

According to Hays, another trend impacting today’s recruitment market is the preference for companies to recruit on a temporary-to-permanent basis in order to trial a candidate in the role.

“Many employers prefer temporary assignments to not just cover workload peaks, but to trial a candidate to ensure they are a good fit, both in terms of skills and with the business’ culture, before offering them a permanent job,” said Noblet.

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